Ceremony breaks ground for Vietnam Monument

By MICHAEL BRICK Associated Press

Posted:
03/25/2013 02:52:31 AM MDT

Updated:
03/25/2013 05:49:38 PM MDT

AUSTIN, Texas—Veterans came in ball caps, berets and cowboy hats, and men in suits stood with others in jeans and fatigues. Some were there only in spirit, as framed photographs tucked in the arms of relatives who have never forgotten them.

They gathered by the hundreds in the crisp spring breeze on Monday, nearly four decades after the fall of Saigon, to witness the groundbreaking of the Texas Capitol Vietnam Veterans Monument.

"Hoo-ah," a dozen or more voices called out.

Standing before a small replica of the 14-foot bronze monument, which will depict young soldiers in action, Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson invoked the 3,417 Texans killed or missing in the Cold War-era conflict. In their honor, he dedicated 3,417 dog tags to be entombed in the monument.

"Hero tags," said Patterson, a retired Marine who volunteered for duty in Vietnam. Some 58,000 Americans and an estimated 3 million Vietnamese died in the war, which ended on April 30, 1975 when northern Communist forces seized control of Saigon, the U.S.-backed capital of former South Vietnam.

Bagpipes played, and the soldiers rose, some leaning on canes or friends for support. Some sniffled, perhaps on account of the unseasonable chill.

"God bless our Vietnam veterans," said retired Brigadier General Charles Edwards, leading a prayer. "God bless this land, our home we call Texas."

The soprano Mela Dailey sang the national anthem, her voice joined first by one baritone, then more.

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The sound rose like a ragged choir on the lawn, where monuments already honor soldiers of the Korean War, both World Wars, the Spanish-American War, the Confederacy and the Alamo, as well as pioneer women, children, cowboys and the Ten Commandments.

When the singing was done, Robert Floyd, chairman of an organization that raised $1.3 million in private donations for the project, praised the spirit reflected in its design, which shows five soldiers of five races and five military branches. Only indirectly did he acknowledge the protesters arrayed across the lawn. Some signs contested the exclusion of soldiers from South Vietnam; others addressed the chemical weapons used in the war.

"This monument is not to be political," Floyd said. "It is to honor those who served their country."

The speakers who followed—including the mayor of Austin, several lawmakers and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst—called the monument an overdue addition to the 22-acre grounds. Some simply offered the old soldiers a belated welcome home. Others lamented the treatment they received.

"We were called baby killers," said Rep. Wayne Smith, an Army veteran from Baytown.

"But," he added, "that has changed."

As the speeches ended, three young Marines in dress blues moved forward, holding twelve shovels. A representative group of old soldiers, plus a daughter and a mother, pressed the blades into the dirt.

The last words fell to Joseph Galloway, the combat correspondent awarded a Bronze Star for valor, who wrote a famous book about the war. He said, "It's about time."

Before a procession of motorcycles escorted the dog tags down the highway to Bastrop, where the monument is under construction, veterans in camouflage performed a battle theater ceremony for the dead, stacking a boot, a rifle and a helmet. Two buglers played an altered version of Taps. Their instruments diverged, adding grace notes and jarring dissonance, then came together for the resolve.